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Staff

Francine treating a patient

services - physiotherapy, classes, courses, workplace evaluations

  • 'Hands on' treatment
  • Posture and fitness classes
  • Posture pilates classes 
  • TMJ 
  • Continuing education courses
    (for health professionals, fitness
    instructors and personal trainers)
  • Posture assessment
  • Workplace evaluations
  • Real Time Ultrasound Imaging

treatment techniques - massage, acupuncture, trigger point therapy etc

  • Soft tissue techniques (e.g. massage)
  • Muscle energy techniques
  • McKenzie, Maitland or Mulligan
    mobilisation techniques
  • Acupuncture
  • Trigger point therapy
  • Craniosacral therapy
  • Traction
  • Taping to retrain muscles
  • Taping to reduce pain
  • Real Time Ultrasound retraining
  • Pre and Postnatal pelvic floor assessment

We explain the pain
Our treatment combines a holistic and science based approach. We believe it is very important for you to understand the anatomical reason for your pain, where this is possible. We not only treat your symptoms, we also try to understand how or why your pain developed in the first place.

Most muscle or joint pains can be treated by physiotherapy. Neck and lower back pain, jaw pain and headaches, shoulder and knee pain and work-related and sports-related injuries are our expertise.

We consider a home exercise program to be one of the most important aspects of a speedy recovery - no matter what your age, pain or injury.

Penny Elliott - ball stretchingHelping you get fit
All our physiotherapists are qualified to evaluate your current fitness program and to modify or improve it to meet your postural or sporting requirements.

We run fitness classes in our clinic on most days. Please refer to our classes section.

We have recently produced a DVD on the neck, shoulder and knee stretching, strengthening and stability exercises, which we prescribe and use in our classes. Please refer to our products section.

Francine St GeorgeFrancine St George
MSc (Med) BSc (NSW) PGD Physio PGD Sport Sc MAPA.
Physiotherapist/Sports Scientist

Francine is the clinic founder and is well known throughout Australia for her innovative ideas and integrative approach to injury and pain management.

She combines her voluntary public relations activities with research, lecturing and treating at the clinic. Her key expertise is setting up exercise programmes to permit you to learn how to ease your pain when hands-on treatment is no longer working.

Focus on elite athletes
Francine has worked and travelled with a number of elite sporting teams, such as the Australian University hockey team and the Australian Universities rugby team. Over the last twenty years, she has also worked at a number of National and International sporting meets, including The Commonwealth Games in Brisbane and the World University Games (both in Canada and in Japan).

Her Masters degree (from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney) reflects her particular interest in elite athletes. For her thesis, she researched an area of particular interest, Investigation of the Lumbar Disc of the Elite Athlete using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

Books, DVDs and exercise prescription pads
Francine and her physio colleagues have released the Posture Pilates DVD Series. Posture pilates combines elements of yoga, clinical pilates and physiotherapy stability exercises. The key focus of these exercises is to improve posture, strength and flexibility.

Francine has written three books: The Muscle Fitness Book (Published by Simon and Schuster 3rd ed. 1998); The Stretching Handbook (Published by Simon and Schuster 3rd ed. 1998); and Bodyworks (ABC publishers 1999). Bodyworks provides answers to the questions she was most frequently asked on the regular national radio segment.

Francine has also developed exercise prescription pads for use by physiotherapists (the Bodyworks and Rehabilitation series).They clearly illustrate a number of neck and back stretches, strengthening and stability exercises. They also show some of the most commonly taught stability exercises using the gym ball.

Courses
Francine has been giving courses for health professionals and the general public since 1982. Her most popular course, conducted for physiotherapists, is called Posture, Soft Tissue and Exercise. It has two levels, and each level runs over two days. (These will re commence in 2010)

Surfing
Although passionate about her work, Francine tries not to miss a daily surf or swim at one of Sydney's fabulous beaches.


Penny Elliott - on fitness ballPenny Elliott
M.H.Sc.(Orthopaedic Manipulative Therapy) B. App.Sc (Phty) MAPA
Physiotherapist

Penny is senior associate of the Physiotherapy Posture and Fitness Clinic and combines her clinical work with lecturing and taking classes.Penny has recently completed her Masters in Orthopaedic Manipulative Therapy. She teaches her Pilates trainers  and the St George Courses both in Australia and overseas.

With a personal background in dance, Penny's interest has evolved in movement analysis and postural assessment. She uses this expertise in designing individual exercise programs, regardless of your fitness level.

Penny has worked with a variety of sports people at Sydney University's Sports Clinic including the Sydney University Rugby team, Olympic level rowers, runners and triathletes. She continues to conduct her ever popular postural fitness class at the university.

Penny's other areas of interest include lower limb analysis and biomechanical assessment, which has arisen from her work making orthotics with a well known Sydney podiatry group.

As well, teaching posture at the University of Sydney's School of Dentistry has sparked her interest in treating TMJ (temporomandibular disorders), or jaw pain.

Penny's hands on and exercise based approach to treatment means that patients can really understand their problem and take an active part in managing their own health and fitness.

When not in clinic, Penny will be found in all manner of activities to keep fit including dancing, swimming, jogging, yoga - and, her interest of the moment, Kung Fu.


Kathryn Cowen
B.App.Sc.(Phty) MAPA
Physiotherapist

Kathryn is currently on maternity leave.

Kathryn's passions are yoga and posture. After travelling the last few years in Asia, India, Nepal and Europe as well as working as a physiotherapist in England, Kathryn has returned home to put her ideas and experience into practice.

Kathryn strives to incorporate her exercise prescription, personal fitness training, yoga and Pilates skills to progress patients quickly to functional active exercise in order to aid a speedy recovery. Her classes involve posture awareness, strengthening and stretching exercises, focusing on "whole" body health and fitness. They aim to support, encourage, educate and motivate patients to gain, and then maintain, a healthy body.

Kathryn has also studied art and has found this to be very helpful to her skills and 'hand focus' as a Physiotherapist.

Kathryn also lectures at the NSW Massage School.


Alex Sherborne
B.Phty (UQ)
Physiotherapist

Alex has moved to Sydney having worked extensively in Europe and establishing a large pilates-based physiotherapy pratice in Brisbane. He worked initially in the Mater Children's Hospital and later privately and closely with the University of Queensland training undergraduate and masters students from both Australia and overseas.

Alex is particularly interested in diagnostics and believes that if we can take the time to get the diagnosis right, then the treatment options become clear. He has post-graduate training in numerous areas and combines various techniques to individual requirements for optimum outcomes. Using the clinic's real-time ultrasound to see muscle imbalances is of even more interest to Alex.

Spinal problems are of particular interest, especially in adolescents, as are pre and post-operative rehabilitation.

Alex has played several sports at State level, worked in English Premier League Soccer and with the British Olympic team. He is also physiotherapist to several college basketball, rugby and soccer teams at present.

In the brief times that he isn't working, he has to tend to the needs of his large family, research antiques, struggle to learn French, swim laps and ponder why he didn't move to Sydney earlier.

 


Mike Blackwell
B.Sc (Phty)
Physiotherapist

 

Mike graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2002. He has worked both in private practice and the public health system. Since graduating, Mike has also worked as an accident and emergency physiotherapist practitioner.

Mike has a passion for sports injuries and worked at the English Premier League Soccer team, Birmingham City - at academy level, for 2 years. It was here that Mike gained great experience in the assessment and treatment of non-operative and post-operative ankle, achilles tendon, knee, groin, hip and abdominal injuries.

As well as this, Mike also has a passion for postural problems - including neck and lower back pain.

In his spare time, Mike enjoys playing soccer, tennis and golf. He is also a very keen supporter of Liverpool Football Club. Mike also enjoys music gigs and going to the movies.

 


Natasha Rai
B.Sc (Phty) (Hons)
Physiotherapist

 

Natasha graduated from the University of Birmingham, 1999. Since graduation, she has worked predominately in private practice. Natasha has trained with the Australian Physiotherapy Pilates Institute.

 

Natasha is experienced in treating lower back, pelvis, hip and shoulder pain. She also treats women during and after their pregnancy for pelvic pain and incontinence.

 

Natasha combines hands on treatment and exercise to facilitate recovery. She is trained in the use of Real Time Ultrasound to accurately assess how muscles of the pelvic floor, lower abdominal and hip are working. With this information she is able to formulate an individual exercise program to help pain, posture and core stability.

 

Natasha's own sporting background is in martial arts. The experience of recovering from her traumatic injuries helps her to relate to the pain and the challenges of returning to sport.


Christine Hesse
BAdvSc(Anat), BAppSc(Phty) MAPA
Physiotherapist

Christine has completed degrees in both Anatomy and Physiotherapy. She has also been trained in Clinical Pilates and brings to the practice her experience in teaching classes that enable people to learn about their bodies and manage their pain and symptoms with stability based exercises. Chris currently teaches at PPFC.

Her daily fitness regime includes either running, swimming, walking, cycling and Bikram’s yoga, so she can relate to many associated injuries and how to improve form.

 


Belinda McMillen
Dip RM, Dip Remedial Therapies
Remedial Massage Therapist

Belinda is a qualified as a Remedial Masssage Therapist, with a background working in natural therapies education at the Australasian College of Natural Therapies. Belinda  has done further studies in remedial therapies such as aromatherapy, reflexology, shiatsu, reiki, facial acupressure and nutrition. She offers a wholistic treatment for stress relief, muscular ahces and pains or sports massage. 



 

 
 
 
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